"So, you have people who are
certain that a man in a robe transforms a cracker into the
literal body of Jesus saying that what goes on in Scientology is
crazy? Let’s realize this. What matters is not who says who’s
crazy, what matters is we live in a free country," Tyson, known
for his
skeptical views of Christianity, said. "You can believe
whatever you want, otherwise it’s not a free country—it’s
something else. If we start controlling what people think and why
they think it, we have case studies where that became the norm. I
don’t care what the tenets are of Scientology. They don’t
distract me. I don’t judge them, and I don’t criticize
them."

There is dispute, however,
about whether or not Scientology is a legitimate
religion.

France convicted
the organization for “organized fraud.” And it
is notorious for convincing
people to join its system, having them pay for "readings,"
and
allegedly employing types of blackmail to keep people in the
organization.

Former members of the
church have sued, claiming the church has duped people into
donating millions of dollars toward misrepresented
causes, according
to The Telegraph.

A 2011 tax filingvalues the three organizations comprising
Scientology at $1.5 billion,
according toThe Wrap. The
church sought a tax-exempt status from the IRS for several years
before it finally got it in 1993.

L. Ron Hubbard unveils the
"Classification and Gradation Chart," which lays out the
step-by-step advancement in the organization.HBO/"Going Clear"

The church's founder, science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard,
"started
his career as a writer doing pulp-fiction works for which he
was paid a penny a word."

Hubbard reportedly said, "You don't get rich writing science fiction.
If you want to get rich, you start a religion," at a meeting of the Eastern Science Fiction
Association in November 1948.

Tom
Cruise is a prominent member of ScientologyHBO/"Going Clear"

Here's what Tyson
told the Beast about Scientology's status as a religion:
"Religions, if you
analyze them, who is to say that one religion is rational and
another isn’t? It looks like the older those thoughts have been
around, the likelier it is to be declared a religion. If you’ve
been around 1,000 years you’re a religion, and if you’ve been
around 100 years, you’re a cult. That’s how people want to divide
the kingdom."

Tyson continues: "Religions
have edited themselves over the years to fit the times, so I’m
not going to sit here and say Scientology is an illegitimate
religion and other religions are legitimate religions. They’re
all based on belief systems. Look at Mormonism! There are ideas
that are as space-exotic within Mormonism as there are within
Scientology, and it’s more accepted because it’s a little older
than Scientology is, so are we just more accepting of something
that’s older?"

"Going Clear" is based on
Lawrence Wright's best-selling book of the same name. The documentary
premiered Sunday night on HBO.